KOREAN-AMERICAN STUDENT DIES OVER COVID-19

[Anchor Lead]

Next up, we have some tragic news from California, a Korean high school student has died due to the Coronavirus. This teen is the same student health officials in Los Angeles County earlier reported. as the first case of an underage minor dying from COVID-19 in the United States.

[Pkg]

​A teenager died in Lancaster, California, north of Los Angeles on March 18. Five days later, local health authorities announced the boy tested positive for COVID-19.

[Soundbite] BARBARA FERRER(LA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR(MAR. 23))

However the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there could be another explanation for his death. It was later revealed the deceased was an ethnic Korean high school student. According to the British tabloid "The Sun," the teen is surnamed Hwang and papers confirming his death show he is of Korean descent. It was also unveiled that Hwang was denied treatment because he had no health insurance.

[Soundbite] R. REX PARRIS(MAYOR OF LANCASTER)

The U.S. CDC has not determined the cause of death as COVID-19 and is closely looking into the case. U.S. media reported that Hwang's family was unaware of the fact that he tested positie for the virus even after his funeral was held.